I cringe everytime someone uses the word Latino when generically speaking of Spanish-speaking people. I prefer to be called Spanish or Hispanic. Some people may disagree with me but I think that calling me a Hispanic describes my true ethnical and cultural origin. Although many people will bring the fact that the colonization of America by the Spanish conquerors was bloody and opressive, we still owe to Spain the origin of our countries. From Mexico to Patagonia and the Large Antilles, the Spanish conquistadores left their footprint in the form of language, architecture, religion, cooking, stories, art, crafts and culture.
In contrast, a Latino is anyone who descends from people that speak a Romance language like: French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Romanian. By that definition, when we speak of Latin America we include countries like Brasil, Haiti, French Guyana and, Surinam. The same definition could apply to Italian-Americans, French-Americans, French-Canadians, and Cajun people.